They call it the Classicissima, the most important and well-known one-day race in Italy that, with its 299 km course, is also the longest. As well as, as you can guess from the name, one of the oldest, first held on April 14, 1907, and now celebrating its 114th edition this year. The current holder of the record of victories, for a long time in the hands of the legendary Costante Girardengo, is Belgian Eddy Merckx, nicknamed “the cannibal.”

This year however, the Milano-Sanremo route, for its first ever time, does not begin in Milan, but rather from the nearby town of Abbiategrasso, passing through places such as Pavia and Ovada. Later, after crossing the infamous Passo del Turchino (highest point reached on the path), the racers will enter Liguria crossing much of the western part of the region: Varazze, Savona, Albenga, Imperia and most of the coast by tackling three renowned capes, Capo Mele, Cervo and Berta before embarking on the Cipressa-Costarainera climb, the final ascent of the Poggio and the nosedive to the finish line in Via Roma in Sanremo.

25 teams are competing, each consisting of 7 riders; among the most highly regarded stand Wout Van Aert, Mathieu Van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe, Tadej Pogačar, Filippo Ganna, and Matej Mohorič, who won the 2022 edition after a final sprint and a heart-pounding descent from the Poggio.

There are many live TV broadcasts and streams available for you to follow the race form home, including Rai and Eurosport, which will cover the entire event, or Discovery+, Eurosport Player, DAZN, TimVisione and Now that will provide the streaming.

(ph. Rob Wingate – Unsplash)